In conventional laser welding a suitable radiation absorber is normally applied to the underlying joining partner. This is time consuming and costly. Furthermore, the appearance of the component or weld is affected by the color of the radiation absorber.

Nearly invisible welds

In order to be able to weld transparent plastics without any seam marks, the researchers at the Fraunhofer ILT have developed a laser machine for welding plastics. In a lap joint configuration transparent polymers are welded without the addition of infrared absorbers. This eliminates the need for elaborate pretreatment, saving process time and costs, and represents a breakthrough in plastics laser welding. TransTWIST produces high-quality welds that meet all the usual requirements in terms of being free from weld marks and restricting the zone influenced by heat.

TransTWIST shows a great potential for use bio-biomedical field, especially microfluidics, packaging industry and in design applications.

Source: Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, andrei.boglea@ilt.fraunhofer.de